Encountering a work of fiction, and a detective story at that was a change of pace in our readings that I didn’t necessarily ‘need’ but I am definitely enjoying it. There were a few things that I noticed that were of interest to me in the early chapters of the novel. One of those that I feel pertains to our work in this class is Lionel’s references to, and distinctions between speech and language.
As we discussed in class, Lionel’s outbursts of speech are a result of his Tourette’s- either quietly to himself or loudly and repeatedly. It is the instances in his interactions that he explains his use of words that I made note of while reading. “….trying to find the words that would ease the compulsion.”(15) as if the words he can say will ease the intensity of the feelings he has, as an adult he has learned to seek out language to guide him through his tics.
Before he is an adult, Lionel’s discussion of his Tourettes developing shows that he did not always know to seek speech to express and ease the outbursts. Before he was able to do this he references what did not help him “(television shows) weren’t showing me what I needed to see, weren’t helping me find language”. The language he discusses here is different than speech or words, but the emotional side of the language that he needs to respond to and alternate in order to fulfill his urges.
“Language bubbled inside me now, the frozen sea melting, but it felt too dangerous to let out. Speech was intention, and I couldn’t let anyone else or myself know how intentional my craziness felt.” The emotional urges of his ticks have now transitioned into language that he feels within himself. His speech, the expression of his intention is now equated with his craziness. I have not fully gauged how meaningful this page is, but the significance of the language-speech partnership is apparent.
I’ve drawn on these passages in hope of making a connection to narration and story in correlation with Lionel’s language and speech connection. For Lionel, language bubbles inside him and are expelled through speech to quenched his tics and allow him to remain somewhat in control. I draw a connection to this idea; the authors that we have read have stories of their experiences of neurodivergence that bubble inside them and are expelled through narration.
My finals thoughts are drawn back to Lionel’s specification in language/words/speech- how do we as readers dissect these distinctions and do we make them in other works (maybe non-fiction works?)
So I know we are supposed to keep narrator and author separate in our minds when we read pieces of writing, but I can’t help but wonder (prompted by your final question) how Lethem, as an NT individual, translates his neurotypicality into a language that accurately represents an ND individual with Tourette’s. I know your question is more interested in how Lionel’s expulsion of words is similar or different to the other authors release via writing that we’ve read this semester, but I feel like I can’t truly appreciate Lionel and his thoughts as an authentic (I hate this word but I can’t think of a better one right now) narrator and representation of someone with Tourette’s. I did a quick Google search and couldn’t find anything about Lethem having Tourette’s, so if it really is the case that he is NT, then how can we trust him as a source? I know this is like saying that someone who is a male truly cannot be a feminist writer because he has not lived through the experience personally, or someone who is white cannot discuss Orientalism to its fullest extent because of his or her race; it’s entirely possible that they are leading experts in their fields of study but their views can’t possibly be 100% representative of the minority group – can they?
Sorry for the rambling and disjointed response. I’m just not sure how to articulate my thoughts without sounding like a hypocrite (as an Asian American studying African American literature)… but I feel that the question of credibility is always important when discussing works of writing or art academically.
It’s a great question–and there’s no easy answer. I don’t know if Lethem is neurotypical, but I know he doesn’t have Tourette’s (from reading interviews with him).
One possible answer is that the credibility isn’t necessarily about accuracy. You might gauge the novel on what devising a Tourettic narrator enables Lethem to do as a writer, with both form and content.
But that leads to another question: Is it ethical to appropriate other people’s experience–especially when it involves suffering–for the sake of aesthetic experiment?
That leads to another, even thornier question: Could there be any fiction if writers didn’t appropriate the suffering of other people in various ways?